Line #24 Creator/Morris


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/morris_41.png]]
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3	Maurice de Bevere, known by the {{pen name}} "Morris" (December 1, 1923 - July 16, 2001), was a UsefulNotes/{{Belgi\|um}}an comic book artist and writer, and illustrator.
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5	He's perhaps the ultimate example of OneHitWonder out of all FrancoBelgianComics authors, even moreso than the likes of Creator/{{Herge}}, Creator/{{Peyo}} or Creator/AlbertUderzo. Once a co-worker of Creator/AndreFranquin and Jijé, he created the iconic [[TheWestern Western]] comics character of ComicBook/LuckyLuke, a {{cowboy}} who [[FastestGunInTheWest shoots faster than his own shadow]] and [[TheDrifter drifts]] in TheWildWest, in 1946 (inspired to him by a stay in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates) and he didn't work on a single other series otherwise. He is also the popularizer (though not the originator) of the expression "The Ninth Art" for ComicBooks.
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7	In the beginnings of ''Lucky Luke'' in the ''Magazine/{{Spirou}}'' magazine, it quickly appeared to Morris that he vastly preferred drawing over writing stories. That problem with with stories was definitely solved once he met ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'''s future co-creator Creator/ReneGoscinny, who went on to usher in a "Golden Age" of stories for the series that hasn't been replicated to this day, by making them into {{Affectionate Parod\|y}}ies of the Western genre's characters, tropes and clichés. The result became the [[CashCowFranchise second highest seller]] in history among European comics behind Goscinny's own ''Asterix'', and one of the [[LongRunners longest-running]] as well.
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9	Morris worked on ''Lucky Luke'' until his passing at age 77 in 2001 from pulmonary embolism resulting from a fall. The franchise has largely [[OutlivedItsCreator outlived him]] with Creator/{{Achde}}, who renders a perfect imitation of his drawing style.
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11	!!Works Morris was involved in include:
12	[[index]]
13	* ''Franchise/LuckyLuke'':
14	** ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' (comics series, 1946-2001, creator, artist, writer)
15	** ''WesternAnimation/LuckyLukeDaisyTown'' (animated film, 1971, director, writer)
16	** ''WesternAnimation/LuckyLukeBalladOfTheDaltons'' (animated film, 1978, director, writer)
17	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Lucky Luke\|1983}}'' (animated series, 1983-1991, director, writer)
18	* ''Du Raisiné sur les Bafouilles'' (one-shot comic book, 1956)
19	[[/index]]
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21	!!Tropes & Trivia in his works:
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23	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Morris was a cinephile, and he gave several characters of ''Lucky Luke'' the faces of famous actors be they from the [[TheWestern Western]] genre (such as Creator/LeeVanCleef, Creator/GaryCooper, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/KirkDouglas, Creator/RandolphScott, Creator/JackPalance etc) or elsewhere (Creator/BorisKarloff, Creator/WallaceBeery, Creator/DavidNiven, Creator/JohnBarrymore, Creator/SeanConnery, Creator/JeanGabin, Creator/LouisDeFunes etc). Creator/{{Achde}} has kept this going.
24	* NoSmoking: He stopped having Lucky Luke smoke cigarets in 1983, replacing them with wheat stalks. This move was lauded by the World Health Organization, no less.
25	* TakeThat: He had the habit of drawing unsavory ''Lucky Luke'' characters such as the {{undertaker}}s with the faces of people he didn't like.
26	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Morris and Goscinny created a gangster comic book story in 1956, ''[[https://bluesonline.weebly.com/uploads/6/1/1/2/6112056/8822524_orig.jpg Du raisiné sur les bafouilles]]''. They intended to turn it into a series, but ''Lucky Luke'' (and ''Asterix'' as well for Goscinny a few years later) took too much of their time to materialize it.

Context Creator / Morris